Golf bags for containing clubs, balls and other equipment required on the golf course are very commonly mounted on wheeled trolleys so that the player or caddy need not support the weight of bag and contents while moving from place to place. Such trolleys typically have a framework for supporting the bag itself and a wide set pair of wheels journalled upon the framework. While effective, such bag/trolley combinations are typically cumbersome to transport from one course to another.
It is known to fit the bag itself with wheels, as disclosed for example in U.S. Pat. No. 5,435,581 (Rosenfield). The wheels may be coupled to an internal framework of the bag. Again such arrangements typically have a wide set pair of wheels and in some cases even have an elaborate telescopic or folding framework to allow a wide structure supporting the wheels to be reduced in bulk—e.g. by being withdrawn into compartments of the bag—when not in use. U.S. Pat. No. 5,470,095 (Bridges) teaches a bag which operates in this way.
Golf bags fitted directly with wheels have not gained wide acceptance and it is believed a major reason for this is that the wheels utilised, which of necessity are typically somewhat smaller than the wheels of golf trolleys, cause too much damage to the ground of the golf course.
A golf bag fitted with a broad roller is disclosed in GB 2299557 (Costello) but this roller has a cylindrical body of constant diameter save for two seemingly ridged portions which meet the roller's end faces in abrupt corners. It is believed that these features would cause damage to the turf of a golf course, particularly as wheeling the bag through a corner or turning it on the spot necessarily involves the two ridged portions moving over the turf at different rates so that one or both of these portions apparently designed for high traction, must slip. In addition, due to the method of connecting the roller to the bag, it is believed that the roller will be unstable and liable to dislodge itself from the bag over rough ground.